Thursday, April 23, 2015

A 24-year old Islamic terrorist who was a computer science student accidentally shot himself in the leg as he was on his way to kill people at a church in Paris, France. Perhaps this was divine intervention.

This is just one more in a long line of terrorist attacks which have recently taken place in France. The most deadly was the attack on a newspaper that dared publish pictures of Mohammed wherein 12 people were slaughtered.

In light of these issues it’s important to look at the reality of what is going on – putting aside how we want things to be and rather look at things objectively. So what is the truth?

The first question is “are all religions the same?” The affirmative answer to this question is something you hear frequently. Islam is the same as every other religion, it’s just certain extremists misinterpret the religion and use it for violent purposes. If that were the case, why are we seeing thousands of Muslim terrorist attacks but virtually no Hindu or Buddhist terrorist attacks?

In an interesting video I saw recently, it was noted that many people in Islamic countries believe in the imposition of Sharia law, a law which prescribes cutting off hands for stealing and beheading for a variety of other crimes. It advocates stoning to death for adulterers. Many Muslims believe that insulting their religion is a form of attack and the only proper response is to violently attack people who criticize the religion or their prophet. These are not extremist positions, but commonly held views among Muslims.

Another interesting video I saw showed for how long and to what degree Islamic groups have been at war with the West. Over the years, they have slaughtered thousands of people and initiated hundreds of battles and wars. These started as soon as Islam started. The Islamic armies conquered vast Christian areas, forcing them into submission. All of North Africa, for example, used to be Christian but was forcibly converted to Islam. We all know about the “choices” people faced – conversion, death, or a debilitating tax and second-class status in society.

The idea that Islamic terrorism these days is the result of grievances about particular battles or actions by the West is absurd. In fact, the terrorists themselves don’t cite these things as reasons, so why should we? Most of the terrorists from the West actually come from well-to-do families in well-off parts of town. Many have never even been to the Islamic world. Yet they become killers.

So what is the solution? For one thing, the only person who can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. When a psychopath like this guy goes to a church to kill a bunch of people none of your laws will work to stop him. The only thing that would work is meeting him with equal force – not to become sitting ducks. Guns are already banned for personal use in France, but people determined enough find a way to gain access to a firearm will do so. Then is everyone else supposed to sit there waiting to be the next victim.

We need to be realistic about Islam and its motives. We can make excuses till the cows come home, but eventually we have to realize that Islam is fundamentally more violent and has a different perspective on when force is warranted. Pretending this is not true is absurd. Once we realize these things, a screening process needs to be put in place to filter out extremists. I’m not sure how such a system could be initiated, but it’s necessary.

Secondly, people must be armed with both knowledge and arms. Knowledge is perhaps the most important thing – the ability to spot trouble behavior, people behaving in threatening ways and being able to intervene before something serious happens. Specifically this applies to airport workers. Our system is really stupid. People are chosen at random to be searched. It could be an 85 year old grandmother or a terrorist from Yemen. Both would have an equal chance of being looked at more closely. In Israel, they use a different system whereby they spot suspicious behaviors, body language, and other things. They don’t just randomly pick people. Also, everyday citizens must inform themselves of how to be safe in various situations.

In terms of arms, as I said only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun. Look up John Lott for more information on this topic. He has researched the information and found that violence always increases when guns are banned because essentially the criminals find criminal ways to obtain guns, but the general public is left helpless. The cities in the US with the strictest gun control laws have the highest gun crime rates. Also, after the bans were initiated, violence increased more in those cities than elsewhere. It may seem counterintuitive, but it makes sense when you think about it a little.

Islam is not the same as every other religion. The vast majority of Muslims would never commit a terrorist attack, but we have to be aware of the threat and prepare ourselves. Most importantly, we must pray for Muslims that they convert to Christianity so they will chose to love their enemy and forgive those who persecute them rather than attack them.

2 comments:

"Perhaps this was divine intervention". Don’t think so. Where was the intervention during all the other crazy Muslim terrorist attacks? Unfortunately you can't pick and choose which parts of truth you like. There have been plenty of Buddhist terrorist attacks, as well as Christian...even CATHOLIC. Ever heard of the IRA? Moving on, maybe you’re correct that large parts of North Africa were previously Christian, but they were certainly something else long before the Christians moved in. This is what large, powerful religions do...conquest. How about the Crusades? It's not just Islam that’s bad. I know YOU think that people living in Northern Mali should be Christian, but maybe they don’t want any religion forced on them.I can't believe you're citing John Lott. His research has been widely discredited, and in fact, much the opposite has been shown through credible research methods. Sorry, I'm not buying your selective understanding of truth. The Christian bible incites just as much senseless violence, and there have been plenty of people throughout history who have been misguided enough to follow it. The old testament contains absurd violence, but then there are countless disturbing parts of the NT. How about Psalm 137? “Blessed be the one who pays you back for what you have done to us…blessed be the one who smashes your babies against a rock.” How about Jesus? “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Or this lovely one…”But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence. How about this idea: Give up all religion! We don’t need it. Let’s all treat each other with love and respect, do spiritual worship and ritual on our own, since it’s all a personal belief anyway, and move on…out of the dark ages!

Actually, The States With The Most Gun Laws See The Fewest Gun-Related Deaths. Check out these data. This is an example of CREDIBLE research methods: http://www.nationaljournal.com/twentysixteen/2015/08/28/states-with-most-gun-laws-see-fewest-gun-related-deaths